Fishing Expedition
Tobi opened his cell phone, then closed it again with a despairing look. He paced a few steps, stopped, and returned to the streetlamp he had been standing under to begin with. Pulling out his wallet, he peeked inside - discreetly, of course, but not enough to hide the twenties inside.
'Yep, I'm just a stranded kid with too much money and not enough sense to get that you don't stand around with your back to the dark alley in this neighborhood. Come and get me guys!'
He was really getting into this role, and he thought with Tavi's help he even managed to look the part. Nice polo shirt, clean dress shoes, pressed khakis. Everything would probably get good and scuffed by the end of this but clothing was one of the easiest things to steal. That combined with an oblivious, unsuspecting attitude made him a very good target - in fact, he might get mugged or beaten just for failing to show the proper respect, in the form of wariness, in this part of town.
He ignored the alley behind him, and the people walking by him, though not in a deliberate sort of way - that would be too obvious. Rather, he just always had somewhere else to look. The street. His phone. The inside of a nearby storefront. He especially didn't have any attention to spare for the group of five young men headed his way.
Plenty of fun for his two lady companions, who were hidden in the alley, behind the dumpsters.
/ooc Mischa, Tavi, just slap me if anything's not as it should be ;).
Her heightened senses could pick out the shuffling sound of Tobi moving along the sidewalk, and even his funny little comments to himself.
There were other footsteps too. Heavier and louder on the sidewalk. She could pick out the smell of stale alcohol, sweat and cigarette butts. And at least one of them had been snorting cocaine.
That was good. It would mean the men would be cocksure of themselves and their abilities. And Tobi presented the weakest possible challenge to them. He would be a sure bet to receive a 'pounding' from would be bullies.
Mischa smiled and got back to her feet. She crouched behind the dumpster near Octavia and waited expectantly.
She had his video camera pointed towards the entrance of the alleyway and through the view lens Tavi watched her brother pace back and forth as if waiting for someone who had yet to arrive. Poor lost little puppy in the big city, he did that act so well that Tavi was almost tempted to mug him.
Casting a glance at Mischa, she saw the other woman was getting warmed up for the fight to come. Eh, she needed to stay with the camera, besides they weren't much of a threat and would provide a warm up exercise quick enough. Listening to the voices coming closer, she counted each new individual. One was a little slurred and seemed more drunk than the rest but it was likely that they had all been drinking, one talked too much and got several 'shhh's' from his friends, one breathed heavily with every exhale, a mouth breather, man that was annoying, and one slimply laughed quietly at everything his friends said. She counted four or five different people by the time they were almost close enough to be seen from her angled view of the alley opening.
"Showtime."
She whispered more for the video's sake than to alert her fellow Vyusher. Tavi tensed her legs and waited.
((OOC: Sorry this took so long. I had a whole list of things that I was supposed to do and tag but my computer froze and had to be rebooted several times, poor ancient thing, and I lost my list. ))
Said target was ready for them - how could he not be after that little exercise in telegraphing their next move to everyone in sight? He looked over with a hapless grin.
"Hey guys...how's it...hanging..."Â?
He trailed off with a dismayed expression as the five guys surrounded him, looking quite menacing, ooh, shiver. Tobi stifled a grin and spoke in a tremulous, uneasy voice.
"Uh...can I...help you with something?"Â?
The guy directly in front of him, who seemed to be the leader of the group, took a step closer, invading his personal space and blowing smoke right in his face. He took several steps back, making a show of disgust, mumbling protests and allowing the group to herd him into the alleyway. They stopped at the dumpster; the next step bumped him up against the guy behind him. The leader chuckled at his frightened expression and pulled a switchblade out of his sleeve, popping it open with an almost quaint flourish. Was this asshole seriously trying to mug him with a -knife-? Granted, it was a pretty freakin huge knife, but even so! This was just embarrassing for everyone!
'Yeah, you fuckin fairy. Let's start with your wallet.'
Oh this was -too- perfect. 'Fuckin' fairy'? Pulleeze.
"Alright, yeah, my wallet, right. There really isn't any need for that kind of language..."Â?
His commentary earned him a shove from behind and someone muttered, close to his ear.
'We'll talk to you any way we want, queer boy, now shut your cake hole and give him the wallet.'
Really, how tired. Was this the best they could come up with? What a pack of dime store hoodlems, straight out of an era when such punks could become kings of the street. Well, there's a new crew in town, motherfuckers, and you guys are about to learn that the hard way.
"Yeah, right, heh, cakehole, that's funny,"Â? he babbled, wheedling as he pulled his wallet back out of his pocket and started to open it to take the money out, holding it away from his body so that when the leader lunged for it he wouldn't get cut by accident. True to form, the leader made his grab before he could get the bills out.
"Hey, come on man, just take the money, you can have that, come on, gimmie my other shit back..."Â?
From behind, he heard another murmur. He hoped the girls got this one extra good.
'When you gonna get that we're gun take what we -want- you little bitch?'
It was a good thing his self image was pretty unshakable or all the name calling would be getting on his nerves right about now. As it was, he thought he might have a talk with Tavi about his wardrobe. Was it the shoes making him look gay?
The leader stepped back, pointing down at his feet.
'Those are nice shoes. Aren't those nice shoes?' Murmurs of agreement. Okay, so it wasn't the shoes.
'What size shoes you wear, princess?'
Tobi tried again to take a step back, and again collided with the guy behind him. His voice came out whimpering, pathetic, and he only prayed he could keep it up a little longer without bursting out laughing.
"Aw, come on, don't take my shoes..."Â? The knife went up, just under his chin, and he squealed out the rest. "Thirteen and a half, thirteen and a half!"Â?
The leader licked his lips.
'I do believe those would fit me quite nicely.'
They wouldn't - he could see this punk's feet were much smaller than his, and he even caught a look of doubt from the others in the little crew, but of course no one dared to argue, especially not scared little Tobi.
'You heard him, twinkle toes! Take off your shoes, NOW.'
Geez, what a spaz. Forcing his bottom lip to tremble just slightly, he bent over as though to untie the laces. Now seemed like as good a time as any. He didn't doubt for an instant that Mischa and Tavi would be ready and waiting; perhaps it was his trusting nature, but it simply never occurred to him to worry that the girls' attention might have wandered.
He looked up, his hand on his shoe, and beamed a sarcastic smile at the leader of the group.
"Oh, this ain't your day, -friend-."Â?
And then he lunged for the leader's legs.
/ooc no worries! An' thanks to Roz for the new phrase of the month . Let's see how many times I can say 'fuckin fairy'!
Mischa heard a dull thud of something heavy hitting the ground. That must have been Tobi's work, she thought as her heightened senses quickly adjusted to the darkness. There were muttered curses and shouts of confusion from Tobi's would be attackers. She could see them quite clearly, and the little bright lights from their cigarettes pinpointed their heads for a nice clean round to the head. Although of course Mischa wasn't sniping tonight. This was up close and personal.
She stepped lightly forward as the other males decided it was a good idea to gather around Tobi and try and beat the crap out of him. Mischa grabbed one attacker on the shoulder and spun him around. The look of surprise on his face quickly turned to agony as she jabbed her right arm into his larynx and then drove a knee into the sternum as he doubled over in pain. The man's cries were choked off by the lack of air in his lungs and the lack of air coming into them. He fell to the ground, shaking. Pathetic. Mischa kicked him roughly in the ribs a few times and was rewarded by a satisfying crunch. With one bemused look, she kicked him in the head and sighed as he groaned and went limp.
Tobi lunged for one guy's legs and Tavi turned her attention to Mischa to make certain the other woman was on the ball. She saw the bottle fly through the air and had time to utter a 'wait' before it crashed into the light. So much for filming this. Taking a tie from her clothing, she strapped the camera to the corner of the railing at an angle. Perhaps they would manage to get something after all but she wasn't going to waste her time holding it for that possibility.
Launching herself off the fire escape from her crouch, Tavi kicked one of the thugs in the face before joining the fray.
((OOC: not sure when it became night since the other thread was during the morning but we'll go with it. ))
The rest of the party quickly closed in, but the girls were quicker – in seconds they were thrown into pitch black and he could hear the battle all around him. The darkness didn’t much bother Tobi, as his other senses worked just fine and then some, but it sure upset the guy he’d just thrown off balance. This kid was funny and he wished he could be sure everything was getting caught on tape – little guy was half cursing in pain and half praying to Jesus, Allah, Jehovah, Buddha. Who would have thought a little dark would freak him out so much?
Well, he supposed the pain might be affecting the guy’s judgment as well. Tobi had managed to push himself up fairly quickly but his opponent was still on the ground. The steely scent of blood wafted upward; Tobi figured he’d struck his head.
Since the girls had stepped in so beautifully, there was just Fishbreath (as he’d taken to calling the mouthy one behind him) and Footfetish, the one who had wanted his shoes. He could hear asshole number five’s shoes slapping hard against the pavement as he ran – that one was a fast learner apparently. He didn’t sweat it; if they wanted, Tavi could easily catch up, and if not it might be good to leave one healthy to spread the word.
Besides, he had Fishbreath to worry about. The wannabe thief had jumped on his back and was now, apparently, trying to get an arm or something around his neck. Tobi grinned and pulled an old classic move, backing up swiftly to crash them both into the dumpster. Then he took a few long strides forward, only to lunge back again, all the while digging his chin into the guy’s forearm to keep from getting strangled. Once, twice, and on the third try, Fishbreath collapsed in a heap on the ground.
Unfortunately he’d taken enough time with one opponent that the other was managing to struggle to his feet. Lunging, he tackled him again, this time rolling with the other guy on the ground and grappling until he got a lock on Footfetish’s arm and shoulder. Twisting hard, he listened to him squeal in pain for a moment before leaning forward, speaking into his ear.
“You wanna give me my stuff back now?”
/edit - I'm leaving out verbs again :.
Three steel balls dropped from the sleeve of Mischa's right hand, bound together by thin black cord. Mischa began spinning the bolo around here head, letting it gradually pick up speed as she twirled it faster and faster. The blur of metal went flying through the air with practiced ease. Mischa smiled as the bolo wrapped itself around the fleeing man's legs, sending him crashing to ground as it entangled him.
Mischa laughed lightly as she dashed the distance from the broken light to the dazed man lying on the sidewalk.
"I'm sorry, but leaving us so soon is not an option."
Reaching down, Mischa grabbed the man by his bound legs and whistled a familiar childhood tune as she dragged him back towards the others.
Turning her attention to one that her brother was not employing as a mattress, Tavi used her target like a ramp. He seemed a bit surprised when she stepped onto the back of his bent leg and from there launched herself onto his shoulders. From her perch on top of her impromptu chair, Tavi kicked the last remaining guy standing in the face. Mischa would most likely get that one in a moment, in the meantime she was having fun playing with her chair.
Patting a rhythm on his head like it was a set of bongos, Tavi leaned down and commented on the situation.
"So... this not go according to plan? That's the problem with little rich boys these days, you never know -who- their friends are."
“What? I can’t hear you, let’s try that again.”
He gave the arm another hard twist and this time got a squeal of pain.
“Ah, I see. I’ll just take that as a ‘yes’, then.”
Sitting down squarely on Footfetish’s back, he began rifling through pants pockets, stopping to more effectively pin the guy down or give him a good smack when he tried to squirm. Once he was sure he had all of his own belongings back, he started in on the criminal’s. It looked like their little group had actually managed to pull off a couple robberies tonight, unless this jackass was actually stupid enough to walk around with a wallet full of twenties just because. After the wallet came the jewelry, of which there was quite a lot – two bracelets, two rings, a small medallion. Some of the stuff would be worthless, but he took it all anyway, just because the guy had been an asshole and should learn a lesson. He heard a mumbled protest when he pulled at the medallion’s chain, breaking it away, but he couldn’t be sure if it was just because he’d hurt him or because he’d pulled off something important.
Finished with the robbery portion of tonight’s show, he sat up straight, shoving all his acquired items into various pockets as he mused out loud.
“Hey, Tavi?” Hmm, was she busy right now? He could hear her slapping someone around. Meh, his question was rhetorical anyway. “Why is this scum in our alley? Oy, Mischa! You know why this scum is in our alley?” Pleased with himself, he bounced a little on his victim’s back. “Maybe we should ask this sad motherfucker here. Hey! You!” He bent down to speak in the smaller guy’s ear, still speaking loudly. “What. Are. You. Doing. In our alley?”
"Perhaps we should leave a message to other would be interlopers, Comrade Tobi. I do believe in some parts of the world it is customary to cut the right hand off a thief."
Mischa pulled a long bladed knife from a sheath around her belt and flicked it towards Tobi's captive fool. He squealed in pain as the knife pierced his right hand and pinned it to the sidewalk.
"Although, this is a first offense. Maybe we just take a couple of fingers. I think that would teach this miscreant and his friends a little respect and courtesy."
Mischa laughed softly, her eyes narrowed.
"Personally, we dealt with thieves by putting a couple of bullets in the back of the head. But this is America, I'm sure you have your own way of dealing with such scum."
Mischa bent down and between rifling through her captive's belongings. An ornate money clip with crisp fifty dollar notes, too refined for a street predator like this. She pocketed the money and kept searching. A set of brass knuckles, always useful. A handful of credit cards, most likely stolen, some gum - a disgusting habit - and a small necklace with a delicate silver broach. Mischa opened it and was angered as she saw the tiny photograph of a girl no older than twelve with her parents standing lovingly over her.
There was a name on the back of the broach and the year in which it had been dedicated. Mischa would see to it that this got back to the rightful owners - if they were still alive. She drove her heel into the back of the captive, causing him to cry out in pain.
"Be thankful I'm in a good mood, thief. You deserve to be dancing from a noose at the end of this lamp-post for the misery you have inflicted."
Mischa straightened and carefully slipped the locket into her pocket. Sighing softly, she waited to see what her companions would do next.
"Some people are just too stupid for their own good health. I think these qualify."
She blithely ignored the tensing up of her perch after her remark. He didn't say anything which made him smarter than some of his friends. Maybe she should go easy on him...or maybe he should learn quickly that hanging out with idiots typically ends with dire consequences. Pressing down on his shoulders, Tavi vaulted off her thug.
Stepping up in front of him, she smiled sweetly and then stuck her hands around his chest. For a moment she almost appeared to be reaching out to give him a hug; instead, her hands rifled through the inside pockets of his jacket.
Leaning forward and tilting her head back to look up at him, Tavi purred.
"Be still, Lovey, and you just might live."
She spared some attention for Mischa's talk of thieves while she pilfered Perch's things. The common old world cure for a thief was to cut off his hands. Her victim steadily watched her but remained still. Lucky for him. There was not much to be looted from the jacket. Some bits of paper...Tavi arched an eyebrow at a phone number from a Brittany and whistled at her target. A comb, some cash and a set of car keys. So he was a mobile thug. Tavi stuffed the cash into her own jacket and then stuffed the other things back into Perch's jacket. None of it was worth taking, not even the car.
Mischa asked what American justice suggested in this situation with the implied assumption that Tavi and Tobi were natives of the area.
"Tobi and I aren't American so I guess it doesn't really matter what they would do in this situation."
Turning her attention back to her victim, she gave him a wide grin and then shoved her hands into his back jeans pockets.
"You're an American. What do you think should be done?"
Her target shrugged in an unconcerned fashion and said that they could do whatever they wanted. At least he'd gotten that fact very quickly; he really -was- smarter than his friends.
One last test, Tavi patted him on the ass and then turned away from him and looked towards her brother.
"Well they won't know that its our alley if we don't let the live to spread the word. So I'd suggest maiming at best. Maybe you should give him a scar to remember you by. Chicks dig scars."
But for now, there was the loud squealing coming from underneath him to contend with. The girls threw suggestions back and forth on what to do with him, and as Tobi rarely had original ideas, he eagerly took his sister up on her suggestion.
“Hold still, dickwad…you’re gonna feel a little bit a pressure.”
Feeling merciful, he gave a sharp yank on the knife, eliciting a full out scream. They would need to wrap this up; even in this neighborhood all the noise would get noticed. Slowly, he ran the tip of the knife over his victim’s cheek while he mused aloud.
“Yeah, I’ve heard chicks dig a good scar…but I don’t think this asshole’s all that worried about impressing the ladies when he’s got his little friends to look big for.”
With a sudden sharp flick, he slashed across the cheek, leaving a streaming red trail in the knife’s wake. Tobi shrugged. “Not so big now, I guess.”
Shoving off with his hands, he rose to his feet, dusting himself off and looking bored with the whole affair.
“You guys should probably piss off before our moods change.” He grinned cheerily over at Mischa. “You don’t want to see these girls angry.”
The thief on the ground simply groaned in response; Tobi gave him a surprisingly vicious kick in the ribs to help him along.
“When I tell you to leave our alley, you leave our alley! Sorry sack of…ah, shit.” He looked over at his sister. “He passed out.” Scowling a little, he looked down again. “Wus.” His gaze now focused on Tavi’s captive, and his eyes narrowed. “You better get your boy out of here. You won’t like what we do with him.”